KCRA 3 has learned of nearly two dozen firms now planning to say goodbye to some of the highest taxes in the nation.

It’s all part of a campaign launched by one of California’s neighboring states, the day after Proposition 30 passed, which triggered billions of dollars in new taxes.

And now, a growing number of Californians are saying, “Arizona, here we come.”

California chief executives have been arriving since January at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport, eager to relocate their companies and bring thousands of new jobs to Arizona.

Upon arrival, those CEOs will meet with an entourage of Arizona mayors and other leaders eager to proclaim, “Now arriving, California.”

“Come to Arizona,” said Dr. Ann Hart, president of the University of Arizona. “It’s a better place to do business.”

Arizona is more than just a desert. It’s an oasis for Californians fed up with the highest personal-income tax rates and the highest sales-tax rates in the country.

California is also the worst state in the nation to do business, for eight years in a row, according to Chief Executive magazine.

“We do not have the regulatory and tax and expense and anti-business attitude that exists in California,” said Barry Broome, president of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

It was Broome’s idea to recruit California executives and lure them to Arizona.

But first, he needed a marketing tool -- and California Gov. Jerry Brown gave him one.

Brown campaigned actively for Proposition 30 last fall, and convinced California voters to raise taxes by more than $6 billion annually.

Prop 30 passed by a 10-point margin on Nov. 6, 2012, and on the very next day, Broome launched his campaign to fly in California CEOs -- wining and dining them while also introducing them to Arizona’s movers and shakers.

“And within an hour, we put the program together and went into the market,” Broome told KCRA 3 in his downtown Phoenix office. “We had over 57 companies right off the bat.”

Of those, 19 CEOs have told the Greater Phoenix Economic Council they are committed to leaving California.

And when those California executives explore Arizona, they’ll get an aerial tour of Greater Phoenix. The campaign goal is to give them an overview of the region that might become their new home.

Those CEOs will see the high-end housing market in areas such as Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, where many of the homes have swimming pools.

Once they are back on the ground, they’ll meet with Arizona’s top education leaders, including Dr. Michael Crow, the president of Arizona State University.

In a private interview with KCRA 3, Crow said he will tell the CEOs, “We are here to be of service to you.”

The California CEO tour also includes a stop to the Capitol building in Phoenix, where Arizona’s top elected officials are eager to meet them with an important message.

“Arizona will be consistent,” said Andy Tobin, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.

In an exclusive interview with KCRA 3, Tobin said the CEOs “will have no surprises when they come here. We will be a state they can rely on to not overburden their businesses when they’re here.”

Arizona Senate President Andy Biggs will deliver a similar message.

“We’re open for business," Biggs said in an exclusive interview. "We mean it. And we’re ready to go forward, and we’re going to do what we can to get you here."

The campaign is working. Business relocation expert Joe Vranich told KCRA 3 his office phone has been ringing nonstop.

“The big motivating factor right now is the passage of Prop 30 in the last election,” said Vranich, president of Spectrum Location Services in Irvine, Calif. “I like to say that the reason companies are leaving California is because they are suffering death by a thousand cuts.”

California’s suffocating web of red tape is something Brown addressed in his State of the State speech at the Capitol.

In an interview with KCRA 3, this reporter asked the governor if he were concerned about California’s business climate.

“Dow Jones put out a report called the Phantis report that said California had the absolute worst business climate. That was 1975," Brown said. "The personal income in California was $150 billion. Today, it’s close to $2 trillion. So, take that with a grain of salt.”

Brown established the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, better known as GO-Biz, to make California more competitive.

“We’ve always meant business,” Rajan responded. “California has always been a leader in innovation -- a leader in business creation. Look at the last 12 months in particular. We’re one of the national leaders in private-sector job creation, with over 250,000 private-sector jobs we’ve created in California."

But is it enough to stem the tide of businesses looking to leave?

Arizona and other states already are banking on a big exodus from California.

The Golden State has lost hundreds of companies to other states already, Vranich said.

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council told KCRA 3 that California is about to lose 19 more companies that are fed up with the perceived hostile business climate.

Those 19 firms, Broome said, employ thousands of people and offer good salaries, ranging from $75,000 to $150,000 a year.

Not all will end up in the Grand Canyon State, but every one of them is committed to leaving California, Broome told KCRA 3.

The 19 companies are not publicly revealing themselves because they have not made final decisions yet, and don’t want to alarm their labor forces.

But Broome told KCRA 3 they include life-science companies, aerospace defense contractors and engine technology companies, along with software and digital companies.

Is there truly an exodus of companies leaving California?

Gov. Brown’s office denies it, pointing to California as one of the leaders nationwide in private-sector job creation.

In addition, half the venture capital invested in the country starts in California.

But on the flip side, California has the highest income tax and sales tax rates in the country, according to the Tax Foundation.

California also is losing population to other states, with the two primary destinations being Texas and Arizona, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows.

In Wednesday’s installment, KCRA 3 will reveal companies that have already left California to say, “Arizona, here we come.”

Photos: Ariz. campaign targets California businesses

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Arizona Mayor's at airport

After the passage of Prop. 30 in November, Arizona leaders launched a campaign to get California businesses to come to the Grand Canyon State. When CEOs arrive at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport, they are met with an entourage of Arizona mayors and other leaders eager to proclaim, "Now Arriving, California."